One of the larger sauropod footprints. The border of the imprint has been digitally outlined. (Credit: Steven Salisbury) Their physical remains may be absent, but dinosaurs left unmistakable impressions in the landscape of Western Australia. A new analysis of dinosaur footprints from the Broome Sandstone region, called "Australia's Jurassic Park," has revealed that thousands of imprints dotting the coastal landscape belong to at least 21 different dinosaur species. Dating to the early Cretaceous, the prints are the only evidence left behind by dinosaurs in the area, and they are among the largest footprints ever found.
Australia's coastline, 130 million years ago, was teeming with life. Long-necked sauropods, predatory theropods and heavily armored stegosaurs were but a few of the diverse cast of dinosaurs that traversed the tidal plains and shallow lagoons in the region. Their feet sunk deep into the soft soil, leaving imprints that would harden into sandstone and ...
